Olympic Stud of the Day: Yelena Isinbayeva

One of the Studliest things I’ve ever read about is Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper falling asleep on the launch pad while awaiting liftoff. Therefore, it should be no surprise that my Stud of the Day is Russia’s princess of the pole vault, two-time Olympic gold medalist Yelena Isinbayeva. She didn’t even have to compete until the bar rose to 15’ 5” — how common are those free passes in the Olympics? — so she just reclined right there in the infield. When she finally joined the competition, she not only clinched her second gold medal, she also set her 24th world record. And she did it all while wearing black nail polish, which I love. (Special shout-out to American beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh, whose black nail polish I’ve admired many times during close-ups of her blocking. Look for Walsh and partner Misty May-Treanor to be Studded when they win their second gold.)

Now, of course, Isinbayeva would like to make the jump to Hollywood, with a “small but important role.” We think she’ll need more than three attempts at that. But then again, she would look great next to Jean-Claude Van Damme…

Nominate your own Olympic Stud of the Day* — or second ours — below. (Then click here to check out our winning Studs from the previous days in Beijing.)